THIS WEEKEND Grossing
as much as the rest of the top five combined, the virus thriller Contagion
opened at number one topping a sluggish frame that saw ticket
sales slump to a new low for the year. The Warner Bros. drama scored an
estimated $23.1M bow from 3,222 theaters (including 257 higher-priced IMAX
screens) for a sturdy $7,180 average playing to a mature adult crowd. The
PG-13 film starring Matt Damon, Gwenyth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Laurence
Fishburne, Jude Law, and Marion Cotillard benefited from an intriguing
end-of-world disaster plot, a well-respected cast led by six Oscar winners
and nominees, strong reviews, weak competition, and a solid marketing push.
Academy Award winner Steven Soderbergh directed.

It was the fifth biggest opening ever in the first half of September
which is typically among the slowest periods of the entire year at the
box office. Contagion also infected
six other markets this weekend with a modest roll out. The international
gross was an estimated $2.1M from 544 screens including $705,000 from Italy,
$531,000 in Singapore, and $392,000 from Hong Kong where the film's story
begins. Unlike the disease, the movie will take some time to spread to
the rest of the world with most major markets opening in October.

After becoming the only film of 2011 to remain number one for three
weekends, The Help dropped to the runner-up
spot with an estimated $8.7M but still held up well slipping only 41% from
the holiday frame. The Disney release has now taken in a remarkable $137.1M
on its way to $160M+. It was a notable weekend for Participant Media which
co-financed both films in the top two spots.

Great reviews and buzz-building sneak previews failed to get young men
out to the multiplexes for the Mixed Martial Arts film Warrior
which debuted in third with an estimated $5.6M. Lacking major
starpower, the Lionsgate release about two brothers who face off in a championship
match averaged a weak $3,000 from 1,869 theaters. Warrior's
performance has underscored how increasingly difficult it has become to
pull males away from football during the fall season with college and NFL
games dominating the TV airwaves on Saturday and Sunday. Teens and young
adults in general have become elusive except for when top movie brands
roll out.

The rest of the top ten was filled with leftovers which fell into a
tight range between $2.5M and $5M a piece. Focus witnessed a 51% decline
for its espionage thriller The Debt
which no doubt took a hit from Contagion and
collected an estimated $4.9M. Falling 46% to an estimated $4M was the younger-skewing
actioner Colombiana for Sony. Totals
are $22M and $29.8M, respectively.

Vicious animals followed as Rise of the Planet
of the Apes grossed an estimated $3.9M, down 51%, while Shark
Night 3D tumbled 58% to an estimated $3.5M. Fox has banked a
stellar $167.8M while Relativity Media has collected $14.8M.

Rounding out the top ten was The Weinstein Co. with a trio of end-of-summer
releases still lingering on the charts. After a soft debut followed by
instantly negative buzz, the fake moon thriller Apollo
18 collapsed in its second weekend falling 67% to an estimated
$2.9M for a $15M total. The Paul Rudd comedy Our
Idiot Brother declined by 49% to an estimated $2.8M while the
4D kidpic Spy Kids: All the Time in the World
took in an estimated $2.5M, off 48%. Cumes stand at $21.4M and $34.2M,
respectively.

Other new films opening outside of the top ten saw some highs and lows.
The stand-up comedy concert pic Kevin Hart: Laugh
At My Pain was rock solid with an estimated $2M from only 97
locations for a potent $20,619 average for CodeBlack Entertainment.

Not delivering any laughs was the Nick Swardson comedy Bucky
Larson: Born To Be A Star which had an aggressive 1,500-theater
launch from Sony but came up with only $1.5M, according to estimates, for
an embarrassing $967 average. The fact that it even had this wide of a
release speaks to the clout that producer Adam Sandler has in Hollywood.
Bubble Distribution did not release an estimate for its campy horror film
Creature but sources put the three-day
figure in the vicinity of $300,000 from an amazingly large 1,657 theaters
in the U.S. and Canada for an abysmal $181 average. That equates to less
than two tickets sold per showtime.

The top ten films grossed an estimated $61.9M which was even with last
year when Resident Evil: Afterlife opened
in the top spot with $26.7M; but down 13% from 2009 when I
Can Do Bad All By Myself debuted at number one with $23.4M.

Be sure to check back on Monday for final figures and again on
Thursday for a complete summary, including projections, for next
weekend when Drive, The
Lion King 3D, I Don't Know How She
Does It, and Straw Dogs
all open.

This column is updated three times each week:
Thursday
(upcoming weekend's summary), Sunday
(post-weekend analysis with estimates), and Monday
night (actuals). Opinions expressed in this column are those solely of
the author.